The effects of a baby’s rough start can linger. An early stressful environment during a baby girl’s first year was associated with altered brain behavior and signs of anxiety in her late teens, scientists report online November 11 in Nature Neuroscience.

Although the results are preliminary, they may help reveal how negative experiences early on can sculpt the brain.

Studies in animals have pointed out how tough times in childhood can influence the brain and the animals’ behavior later i...